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" ABOUT - 
-PRE-CIOUS- 



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TMEODORe A KOliiM CSO/N 

^ JEWELERS 

j6 twbnty-third ^t.,west 

^ AlEWYORK, -^ 




30B20)J 



^~Ii^' object of this little book may 
'''^fesssr^ ^ be stated in a few words. 

We desire to place in the hands of our 
customers, in compact form, a few im- 
portant facts regarding precious stones 
with the rules which should govern 
their wise selection. Larger works on 
this subject may be found in libraries, 
but the coveted hints are. usually 
buried in scientific matter, and the size 
of the volume is out of all proportion 
to the needs of the reader who wishes 
to be guided in purchasing, rather than 
instructed in historical or technical 
lore. 

When it is considered that there is 
scarcely a home where jewels of one 
sort or another — all rep^senting a 



moneyed value — are not to be found, 
the subject assumes an immediate im- 
portance. It must be remembered 
that there is always a double argu- 
ment for the accumulation of precious 
stones: first, their decorative, and 
secondly, their permanent value. On 
the one hand they are objects of beauty, 
of sentiment, and of genuine pleasure 
both to wearer and beholder. But on 
the other hand they are never to be 
regarded otherwise than in the light 
of a simple investment. From their 
extreme portability and absolute value 
(with but slight fluctuation), they are 
properly classed by many conservative 
persons with government bonds. The 
interest on the investment is the 
pleasure of their possession and use ; 
it is as if the interest was spent semi- 
annually for dress or other entertain- 
ment. The investment, however, as 



such, is in reality more safe than a 
Government bond, for in times of 
revolution or political trouble — the 
times when values are most dis- 
turbed — jewels (as a form of portable 
and certain wealth) have alwa3-s risen 
in price. Thus in Paris during the 
French Revolution, diamonds doubled 
in value. Many a safe investor to-day 
makes a practice of keeping jewels in 
his family in case of financial emer- 
gency, in view of the extreme uncer- 
tainty of business operations. 

It seems almost unnecessary to state 
that jewels should never be purchased 
of unknown parties, and it is equally 
important that all such transactions 
should be conducted only with a firm 
of the very highest reputation for 
business integrity. 

The integrity of the dealer, however, 
fully established, his judgment is an 



important matter. This must be 
based on long experience, close obser- 
vation, and an intimate knowledge of 
every detail of the subject carefully 
revised to date. These are essentials 
which are of the utmost importance to 
the purchaser in many instances. For 
example, the price of colored stones 
and pearls is removed from the com- 
mon category and only accurate judg- 
ment can safely dictate their worth ; 
the rarity of a gem is always a factor 
in its price of which only the expert 
can properly judge. 

Emerson's maxim is in point here : — 
' ' He who would bring back the wealth 
of the Indies must take with him the 
wealth of the Indies." You cannot 
secure value without cost. 

With these general remarks let us 
pass to the consideration of the pre- 
cious stones separately in more detail, 



classiiiying thecn under three heads : — 
(a) diamonds; (b) rubies, emeralds, 
sapphires and other colored stones: 
(c) pearls. 




Tt^lE DIAMOND 




gem, surpassing all others 
in brilliancy, is found 
in all colors — white, yellow, orange, 
red, pink, brown, green, blue, black 
and opalescent. The light yellow and 
brown hues are comparatively com- 
mon ; the decided colors are extremely 
rare; only one deep-red diamond has 
ever been found. The colors most in 
demand are perfect white, bluish 
white, and deep golden yellow. 



The diamond is simply a crystal of 
pure carbon, and as such is safe from 
all injury by acids or alkalis, and is 
infusible. 

Diamonds formerly came in large 
numbers from India, later from Brazil, 
and now come chiefly from South 
Africa. 

The brilliancy of a diamond depends 
very much upon its cutting. The 
most desirable form of cutting is the 
"brilliant," which with many modifi- 
cations as to size and proportion is in 
general a shape as of two pyramids 
united at their bases, the upper one 
having a large plane surface, and the 
lower terminating almost in a point. 
The line of division is called the 
"girdle." The best proportion is 
when the "culet" or lower table (be- 
low the girdle) is exactly twice as deep 
as the "crown" or table (above the 



girdle). The number of "facets," or 
faces, varies, but in the most perfect 
cutting there are 5S; a general aver- 
age is from 42 to 74 facets. The 
"brilliant'' is a very recent form of 
cutting. Formerly diamonds were un- 
evenly cut in long and square shapes, 
and such stones, however valuable, 
cannot compare with the modern round 
stone in brilliancy or beauty. 

The value of a diamond is in in- 
creasing ratio as its size increases. 
For example, a perfect diamond of one 
carat being worth $150.00, one of two 
carats would be worth three times as 
much ; but one of ten carats would be 
worth fully one hundred and ten times 
as much. A diamond without flaw or 
tint of any kind is called a diamond 
of 'OciQ first water. 

There are an immense number of 
imitations of the diamond and pur 



chasers should avoid taking any risks 
whatever. It must be borne in mind 
that Jewelers are alwa^^s unwilling to 
appraise the value of stones from out- 
side dealers. Color and brilliancy 
cannot be carried in the memory; 
these qualities can only be judged by 
a side-by-side comparison. We urge 
our customers not to hesitate at any 
time to ask us to send gems to any 
address on approval, for examination 
and close comparison with the offer- 
ings of other dealers similarly sub- 
mitted. Our selections are made with 
extreme care, our avenues of purchase 
are exceptional, and our prices quality 
always C07isidered, are very close to 
actual cost. 



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THE RUBY. 

The most valuable of all corundums ; 
fine rubies in sizes of one carat and 
over are from 3 to lo times more 
valuable than diamonds of similar size 
and quality. Value is a question. — 
first of clearness and color, next of 
size, lastly of perfect formation. 

The hue most desired is known as 
"pigeon's blood" and is the color of 
arterial blood. Clearness is important ; 
examine a ruby carefully for. clouds 
or milky spots. Cracks or slight de- 
fective flaws are of less importance, as 
perfection in a ruby is rarely found 
and color and brilliancy areconsidere'. 
more essential. 



The color may vary from light rose 
to deep crimson, and is not infre- 
quently of a pink or purplish tint. 
Less common are brown and magenta 
tints. 

The ruby is extensively imitated. 
The Brazilian Ruby (^Yhich is topaz), 
the Cape Ruby (which is a garnet), 
and spinels, hyacinths, quartz, and 
tourmalines are constantly sold as 
rubies. The true ruby will scratch 
the topaz and garnet, is lighter than 
the hyacinth, and heavier than quartz 
or tourmaline. Chemical counterfeits 
are happily too expensive if well made. 
Other imitations- known as "recon- 
structed" rubie.^ lack brillianc}^ and 
can be easily detected under a micro- 
scope. At the London Exposition of 
1862 two large rubies were shown 
r.niontr the iewels of Oueen Victoria, 



which later examination proved to be 
simply spinels. 

Rubies are full of the sentiment of 
the East; they are supposed to pre- 
serve the health and spirits of the 
wearer. The supply of rubies since 
the days of Solomon has steadily 
diminished, and a perfect ruby is now 
exceedingly rare. Among the gems 
now on exhibition at our warerooms 
is a genuine rub}^ probably of Siam-ese 
or Burmese origin, not of great size, 
but of such perfect form and depth 
and life of color that it is worthy of a 
visit from all who care to see what a 
valuable ruby really is. 

THE EMERALD. 

One of the most highly prized of 
gem-stones when transparent and of 
line color. It should be of the hue of 



fresh grass in the spring. It is very 
rare to find an emerald without a flaw. 
The stone is very light^in weight, and 
imitations may usually be detected by 
the scales. "False Emeralds," so 
called, is fluor spar (made into vases 
and ornaments) and is slightly lumi- 
nous in a dark room. 

Our stock of Emeralds is always 
large, whatever the demand, and we 
solicit a critical comparison of our 
prices with those of the leading 
jewelers. 

THE SAPPHIRE. 

Exactly the same stone as the ruby, 
but different in color and less rare; 
hence less valuable, especially in the 
larger sizes. When of fine quality it 
is very nearly as valuable as a diamond 
of the same size and quality. The 
choicest shades of color are the blue 



tints of the cornflower and a rich 
velvety blue. It is an added advantage 
if the color is equally brilliant by arti- 
ficial light. Male sapphires (so caUed) 
are the deep-colored stones: light- 
colored ones are female sapphires. 

The prevailing sapphire of commerce 
is of a bluish hue. The sapphire is 
found, however, in other shades of 
color as follows : 

Green Sapphire, or Oriental Em- 
erald. 

Purple Sapphire, or Oriental Ame- 
thyst. 

Yellow Sapphire, or Oriental Topaz. 

Light Green Sapphires, or Oriental 
Aquamarine. 

Greenish yellow Sapphire, or Ori- 
ental Crysolite. 

Aurora-red Sapphire, or Oriental 
Hyacinth. 



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The name " Oriental" is prefixed to 
distinguish the corundum from the less 
valuable mineral of the same color. 
The color, if a corundum, is usually 
less strong and deep, but the stone is 
much more brilliant, rare and valuable. 

"Star" sapphires (so-called) are 
extremely rare ; the}- are so cr3'stalized 
as to exhibit by reflected light a bright 
six-pointed star. 

THE TURQUOISE. 

Color, blue or greenish blue, with a 
waxy lustre, and opaque. The choicest 
hue is a clear, deep sky blue. In value 
it ranks below the ruby, diamond, 
emerald and sapphire, but it is never- 
theless highly prized and a most 
valuable additional color among gems. 

The best turquoises are the Ameri- 
can. There are numerous other 
varieties, notably the Persian and 



Egyptian, but they usually fade in 
color and turn green from exposure to 
light. 

There are numerous counterfeits in 
turquoises : — Odontolites are cut from 
fossil teeth of animals and will yield 
to a file or to nitric acid; "recon- 
structed'' turquoises will quickl}^ 
darken in color if put into water; 
artificially colored turquoises can be 
tested by a drop of ammonia on the 
back of the stone which will leave a 
green spot. 

The popularity of the turquoise has 
recently been greatly heightened by 
the discovery of new mines in this 
country which produce a stone of 
exceptional color which will 7iot fade 
U7ider a7iy exposure. We have some 
of the finest specimens of these new 
turquoises now on exhibition at our 
establishment, and they can safely be 



trusted to hold their exact color. The 
great objection hitherto to this jewel 
has been its liabilit}^ to change in 
color, but this difficulty has now beeu 
wholly overcome. 

THE OPAL. 

This vStone was formerly believed 
to confer magical virtues upon its 
wearer, but a later superstition re- 
versed this. It is easy to trace these 
beliefs to the nature of the stone, 
which, being soft, was easih?- scratched, 
and then appeared to have lost its 
color. To-day, however, opals are 
very highly prized. The finest speci- 
mens are those from Hungary and 
Australia ; Spanish-American opals 
are, as a rule, inferior. 

The best known varieties of opals 
are ( i ) precious or noble opals (highly 
valued), showing brilliant changeable 



color reflections ; (2) fire opals, show- 
ing fire-like reflection; (3) common 
opals, whose colors are milk white, 
bluish white, green, red, etc., but 
without any fire or reflection; (4) 
semi-opals, very opaque ; and (5) hydro- 
phanes, transparent under water. 

The opal is rapidly gaining a marked 
ascendancy in popular favor, and the 
demand to-day for good opals cannot 
be filled although the mines are 
worked to their utmost capacity. As 
this little volume goes to press we are 
in expectation of an interesting in- 
voice of opals, soon to arrive at our 
warerooms. Notice of their arrival 
will be sent to any of our customers 
on request. 

THE SPINEL. 

Only within the last century has 
spinel been discovered to be not a 



corundum, and thus many reputed 
rubies and sapphires have proven to 
be red and blue spinels. 

Spinels are exceedingly close to the 
very precious gems in appearance. 
They are of various shades ; red spinel 
is the most valuable color and closely 
resembles the ruby. Ruby spinels of 
one carat or larger are rare and valu- 
able. Other colors are blue, green, 
yellow, brown, black and white, the 
latter being often confounded with 
the diamond, though less brilliant. 
As secondary stones, or in combi- 
nation, spinels are highly effective. 
They are only surpassed in hardness, 
beauty and brilliancy by the diamond 
and the corundums. 

Much may be learned of spinels by 
a visit to our warerooms and a careful 
examination of our large stock, com- 
prising nearly all colors in many 



shades. Sapphirine, rubicelle, and 
balas ruby are only other names for 
spinel. 

THE GARNET. 

This stone is found in many va- 
rieties, differing in color, composition 
and weight. The red varieties are 
most common, but violet, brown, 
yellow, green and white garnets are 
not altogether rare. A carbuncle (so- 
called), is any garnet cut with a 
smooth, rounding top. 

Bohemian garnets are dark blood- 
red in color and in the larger sizes 
verjT- valuable. ■ Demantoides (often 
falsely sold as olivines ), Cape rubies, 
American rubies, cinnamon stones, 
and almandines are all varieties of 
earnets. 



THE TOURMALINE. 

Of all minerals, this precious stone 
has the largest alphabet of names and 
colors; it is always, however, readily 
distinguished from other gems by its 
electrical properties when heated. It 
crystalizes in three, six, and nine-sided 
prisms, often of great size, and of 
marvelously beautiful color groupings 
— as for example, red with a blue or 
green border, brown with a border of 
old yellow, and many interej.ting and 
more confusing blendings. 

Familiar varieties are achroite, 
colorless ; rubellite, pink or red ; indi- 
colite, blue; and aphritite (or schorl), 
black. There are also green (Brazilian 
emeralds), purple (Brazilian sapphires), 
and yellowish-green (Ce^don cryso- 
lites ). Transparent varieties are more 
highly prized than the opaque stones 



and the red, blue green and harlequin- 
colored tourmalines, if really fine, are 
quite valuable. 

THE TOPAZ. 

This gem is transparent or nearly 
so, and yellow (Saxony), white (Si- 
berian), green, (aquamarine), pale 
blue (Brazilian sapphire), pink (Bra- 
zilian ruby), or colorless (slave's 
diamond). The latter variety when 
pure and cut in facets, closely counter- 
feits the diamond ; in fact the ' ' Bra- 
ganza," (the great diamond of Portu- 
gal ) is supposed to be a white topaz. 

False topaz is simply yellow quartz, 
and lacks in brilliancy. Beryl and 
crysolite are often used to imitate 
topaz. 

THE AflETHYST. 

This stone varies in color from light 
to dark tones of purple and violet. 



The price of amethysts is much in- 
fluenced b}^ fashion ; at times they are 
exceedingly valuable, but at the 
present writing fine specimens can be 
secured through us for very little 
money. 

THE BERYL. 

(Emerald, Aquamarine, Cat's-eye, 
Alexandrite.) 

A green beryl is an Emerald ; a 
transparent pale-green or a light sky- 
blue beryl is an Aquamarine, and a 
golden-3'ello\v beryl is a Chrysoberyl, 
which latter class are in their turn 
divided into Cat's-eyes, Cymophanes, 
and Alexandrites. 

All these are familiar stones and it 
is always possible to secure fine speci- 
mens of them at our establishment. 
Alexandrites are now ver}^ much in 
demand and good specimens of from 



one to four carats are very quickly 
seized ; the demand exceeds the supply. 
Cat's-eyes are very extensively imi- 
tated in quartz, but the imitation 
always lacks the brilliancy and high 
polish of the genuine. The true 
Crysoberyl or Oriental Cat's-eye has 
a bright band of light (usually white) 
running through the centre; in the 
finer specimens it is clearly defined 
and in the centre of the stone. The 
stone itself may be in shades of yellow, 
brown, green or black. 

All varieties of beryls except em- 
eralds are usually very brilliant by 
artificial light. 

THE MOONSTONE. 

This beautiful stone is a clear feld- 
spar, colorless or tinted very slightly, 
with plays of light resembling the 
pearl. Large quantities are cut like 



whole pearls for necklaces or brooches, 
and are in active demand. Size 
greatly affects their value, however, 
and the smaller balls are not at all 
expensive. 

THE PEARL. 

The value of a pearl depends upon 
three thmgs: — first, its form (which 
in order of value must be round, pear- 
shaped or exactly oval); secondly, its 
lustre (or "orient," so-called); and 
thirdly, the purity of its color (any 
yellow or gray tinge greatly lowering 
its value, although pearls of decided 
colors are rarer and often more valu- 
able than the pure white.) 

It is of course assumed that the 
outer surface must be perfectly 
smooth, without spots, wrinkles or in- 
dentations. A rough, oddly-shaped 
pearl is called a baroque. 



A pearl should have the suggestion 
of transparency and imist Jia^'e the 
peculiar "orient" or lustre, without 
which even the finest form and color 
of pearl has but little value. The 
"orient" in the pearl exactly corre- 
sponds to ' 'brilliancy" in the diamond ; 
without it there is no charm. 

Black pearls are the most valuable, 
then pink and yellow; any of these 
decided colors in a perfect pearl 
greatly enhances its cost. 

Pearls are steadilj^ increasing in 
price ; they cost now from two and a 
half to three times as much as they 
did ten 5'ears ago, and there is every 
indication of a continuance of this 
advance in price, as the demand in- 
creases much faster than the supply. 
A pearl which could have been bought 
for $1,000 m 1883 is now easily worth 
from $2,500 to $3,000. 



Much that is interesting may be 
learned about pearls during a half 
hour spent in our establishment at 56 
West 23d Street, and the object of 
this book would not be attained if we 
neglected to say before closing that it 
will give us pleasure to exhibit many 
precious stones to any reader of this 
little volume. We especially desire 
to emphasize the fact that visitors are 
always cordially welcome, regardless 
of any intention to purchase. 

THEODORE A. KOHN & SON. 



CONCERNING MOUNTINGS. 

We make a specialty of odd, rare 
and interesting mountings. While 
the intrinsic value of a gem is always 
independent of its setting, it is never- 



theless through the setting in a 
marked degree that its value is re- 
vealed. The most intelligent class of 
purchasers never disregard the ele- 
ment of mounting. There is practi- 
cally no limit to the number of stjdes. 
and the service which we are enabled 
to render to our customers in this 
connection is correspondingly large. 
We will always willingly advise upon 
the most effective method of mounting 
any particular stone, and an exami- 
nation of our stock will offer many 
additional suggestions. 

To those executing their purchases 
at our establishment we can offer : — 

Fh-st : The advantage of a choice 
from one of the most exclusive assort- 
ments of precious stones in this city. 

Secondly : Accurate and complete 
information and the benefits of expert 
guidance in all purchases. 



Thirdly : Consistently low prices. 

Our avenues of selection are ex- 
tensive and intending buyers may be 
assured of finding here at all times a 
large and exclusive collection, com- 
prising all varieties of precious stones 
in original and artistic mountings. 

Apart from our customers, we 
welcome strangers who visit our es- 
tablishment without any intention to 
purchase. It is a pleasure to exhibit 
rare stones to those who can appreciate 
their beaut3\ No visitor is ever urged 
to purchase. 

THEODORE A. KOHN & SON. 



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